Mechanism for supplying electric power to railway-cars.



No.'659,|69. Patented Oct. 2, |900. G. F. GALE.

MEGHANISM FOR SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER T0 RAILWAY CARS. (Application ledhlnr. 21. 1899.) (No Model.)

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- as far as possible the water and snow which will often fall upon the track and which is liable to interfere with the use of any surface system of electric power, especially in cold weather when ice is liable to form. By my invention I avoid all of the dangers and most risica.

GEORGE F. GALE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' MECHANISM FOR SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER T0 RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,169, dated October 2, 1900.

Application tied umn 21, 1899.

T0 all whom, t may concern.:

Beit known thatI, GEORGE F. GALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanisms for Supplying Electric Power to Railway-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact 4description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the drawings which accompany this specification, Figure l is a plan of a section of the surface of a railway, showing the usual rails H and H, the two central rails A and A", and the cover B of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a section of the railway, showing the railsH H', with the usual wire for an electric circuit, the mechanism for making and breaking the electric circuit, with the usual wire attachment, the contact-disk E, with its prongs c c, and the opening L from the box containing my operative mechanism into the drain C. Fig. 3 shows a plan of the contact-plate D. Fig. 4L shows the two trucks of a car, with the shifting bars K K', running in the opening F between the central rails, making and breaking the electric circuit. Fig. 5 shows the contact-disk used in the box B, with the rollers for making and breaking the circuit. Fig. 6 shows a variation of my mechanism, in which I use a contact-post D instead of the plate D. Fig. 7 shows a variation in which I use permanent projections instead of the rollers In the running of cars by electric power it is very desirable to take the current from beneath the car; but the complicated mechanism at present in use and the dangers attending most of the devices for this purpose have prevented the use of these devices in most eases. In the laying of a rail or other conductor for electricity as the motive for the propelling of cars there is great danger if the rail is charged at anytime except when covered by the car. It is also necessary to keep out Serial No. 709.922. KNO model.)

of the objections to this system of using electric power, and I provide a system which is simple in construction, safe, certain in its operation, not liable to be troubled by water, snow, or even ice, and which can be operated by a small amount ot' power.

Midway between the two rails H H,on which the car runs, I use two other lines of rails A A, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. These lines of rails are about three-quarters of an inch apart, so as to leave room for the shifting bars K K' on the car to run between them. The ends of the rails in each line are separated a short distance, and preferably the spaces between these ends are filled with some insulating material. I prefer that the two lines shall break joints, as shown in Fig. l. At certain distances, not greater than the length of the car, I insert below one rail my mechanism for transmitting the electric power to the shifting bar. Through an opening in the rail a contact-disk E, usually having six or eight points or prongs c c, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 of the drawings,'operates so as to keep one of the points always in the way of the passage of the shifting bar, which communicates with the motor of the car. This contactdisk revolves upon a pivot, (shown in Fig. 2,) so that at every partial revolution produced by the shifting bar makes and breaks connection, by means of the rollers ff, with the contact-plate D, (shown in Figs. 3 and 2,) lying immediately below the disk. The number of the rollers on the contact-disk is the same as the number of the arms 0i' the plate D, so that the rollers may all lie between the arms of the plate, making no circuit until the disk is turned, when one or more connections will be made between the disk and the plate. This contact-plate is connected to a wire which is charged with electricity. This contact-plate should have a little play upon its support, so as to allow for any slight variation in its position produced by frost or other disturbing cause. A return-wire is connected to the main rails H H in the usual manner. When the rollers on the disk are thrown in contact with the plate D by means of the shifting bar on the car, the circuit is closed through plate and disk and box B to rails A A', connected with said box and connected together, thence through motor and car-wheels to the rails H IOO Il', the conducting-wires being respectively connected to said plate D and the outer rails. Beneath the track of the shifting bar-the two rails A and A are connected. Upon the surface of each rail runs a trolley wheel or shoe attached to each side of the shifting bar. These trolleys collect the current from the rails A A. Theseshoes are preferably connected to the shifting bar; but in some cases I may use them independent of the shifting bar. Beneath the two rails I provide a drain C for the Water, which to some extent must come into the open space between the rails, and it is carried away in some usual manner. Into the drain at a point under the mechanism an opening is made from the boX containing the mechanism. I prefer to use rollers on the under side of the contact-disk to make and break the connections with the contact-plate. It will be seen that the number of these rollers is just half of the number of the points c c 011 the disk. I may think best to use one of the common forms of a locking device to prevent the disks from being thrown too far by the momentum of a rapidly-moving car;A but this locking device may be omitted-without impairing my invention, as it would work under fair conditions perfectly well without locking. It will readily be seen that the disk should be thrown only far enough to carry one point out and another in to the path of the shifting bar. Fig. G shows a variation in the construction in that a contact-post is used in place of a contactplate. This is simpler, but not so sure in its operation, as a post is liable to be thrown from its true position by a disturbance. My invention admits of either construction. At the top of the mechanism I provide a cover or plate B made to be easily removable, so as to reach the mechanism without disturbing the rails or the surface.

When a car, as shown in Fig. 4, moves over one of my switches, the shifting bar K on the forward truck strikes one of the prongs c on the contact-disk, turning the disk E enough to cause the rollers on the disk to make connection with the contact-plate. This makes an electric circuit through my mechanism into and through the motor on the car. The section of the rails only, which is under the car, is charged with electricity. When the rear truck comes upon this section of the rails,the shifting baron that truck breaks the electric circuit by turning the contact-disk out of contact. In this way only the section of the rails beneath the car is charged with electricity, and I avoid-any danger from contact with any part charged with electricity. Then not in operation, the switches are all open. The shifting bar on the forward end of the car when in motion strikes the arm of the contact-disk E,which lies across the opening in the third rail, and closes the circuit. Just after the forward shifting bar has closed the circuit, the shifting bar on the rear of the car operates on the rear contact-disk and opens the circuit, or, in other words, the two shifting bars open and close the circuit alternately as the car passes over the switches.

I may prefer to use only one of the center or third rails and place it near to one of the outside rails A, so as to use that rail. In that case I should place the switch either on the inside or the outside of the track as might be found most convenient.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mechanism for operating cars by electric power the pivoted contact-disk in the road-bed having more than two contact-points; a contact-point so arranged that a partial revolution of said disk shall make and break contact therewith, a third rail with which said disk is in electrical connection so arranged that a projection on the car may engage said rail and operate said disk, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a device of the character described the connected rails, A, A arranged with a. space between; the rotary disk having contact points and arms projecting into said space; the contact-plate in the electric circuit having contact-points adapted to be engaged by the disk-points; the outer rails and conducting-w'rres connected to said plate and outer rails all being combined to operate, substantially as described.

3. In combination the connected rails A, A insulated respectively from next adjacent rails at their ends, the rotary disk E, in contact with said rails and having radial fingers projecting into the space between said rails in position to be engaged by a projection on the car; the contact-points fon said disk; the contact-plate D, having points d in position to be engaged by the disk-points; the rails H, H' and the wires connecting the rails H, H and the plate D, with an electrical supply, substantially as described.

GEORGE F. GALE.

Witnesses:

CHAs. ALLEN TABER, CHAs. M. MORIARTY.

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